Re: RC: RC: water tank fish??

[tallcarabs@juno.com]

Wow,  you've really put a lot of thought into this.  I have 4 large tanks
and all I did was go to the pet store and get a dozen feeder fish (12 for
$1).  Usually about 6-8 would die in the following weeks, but the ones
that survived are still here -- that was 20 years ago for the first tank.
 I've never fed them.  Just put them in and forget about them.  Some of
the fish would get sucked in when a horse unused to fish came up to drink
-- the fish seem to love to nibble on the horse's nose.  There's always
hay dropped into the bottom which makes hiding places.  All I do is once
a year I dump the water and wash out the silt on the bottom.  The sides
are devoid of algae -- just the calcium deposits.  What's nice is no
scrubbing of the algae, no mosquitoes, and a fun conversation piece when
a guest notices all those orange and white blobs swimming around in the
troughs!

Rae
Tall C Arabians -- TX

On Thu, 8 Jun 2000 12:59:04 -0400 Kenzie_Kelly@spc.com writes:
> 
> For bugs and mosquito larvae, simple goldfish are best.  Let the 
> fresh
> tank water sit for 24 hours before adding them to allow the chlorine
> to evaporate.  I don't know how safe dechlorinators are for horsey
> consumption, so I wouldn't try it.  You can get a cheap glass gallon
> fish bowl to house them while the water settles.
> 
>      For algae, get a plecostomous.  Avoid the fish labeled as 
> "algae
>      eaters" in the pet store - they are very destructive and will 
> breed
>      like rabbits.  Also, they are carnivorous and will eat your 
> goldfish.
> 
>      If the water temperature gets below 40 degrees, stop feeding 
> the
>      goldfish.  As long as the tank doesn't freeze solid, and you 
> melt a
>      hole in the ice for oxygen transfer, they'll be fine.  Don't 
> cheat and
>      break the ice - the concussion will kill them.
> 
>      The plecostomous is a warm water fish, and will need to be 
> brought
>      inside when the water temperature drops below 60 or so degrees. 
>  Buy
>      the smallest one you can find.  They will grow to fit the size 
> of your
>      tank.  If you can find someone with a 75 gallon tank, you might 
> be
>      able to work a deal to "overwinter" your pleco.  Large ones are 
> hard
>      to come by, and very expensive.  There are online fish 
> suppliers - if
>      anyone has trouble finding a pleco, let me know and I'll dig 
> out my
>      best sources.
> 
>      The goldfish and the pleco will thank you for hiding places.  A 
> few
>      rocks or a small concrete block with holes through it is 
> perfect.
>      It's a good idea to feed the goldfish every 3 days or so.  
> Don't
>      overfeed - just what they'll eat in a few minutes.  Try to 
> locate your
>      tank where it's at least partially shaded.  If the water gets 
> too hot,
>      the fish will stress and get diseased.
> 
>      If anyone would like to know more, I'll be happy to go into the 
> finer
>      points of aquaria.  ;)
> 
>      Kenzie  (who left her 100gal tank behind with her ex-fiancee)
>      Birmingham, AL
>      http://kenzie_k.tripod.com/zane.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
> 
> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
> 
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>